Graphite oxide (hereinafter referred as “GO”) is a promising precursor for bulk production of graphene based materials because it can be synthesized in large quantities from cheap graphite powders.1 It is usually made by reacting graphite with strong oxidants followed by gentle exfoliation.2 The reaction derivatizes graphene sheets with carboxylic acid, phenol hydroxyl and epoxide groups, and thus breaks the π-conjugation in the two dimensional carbon networks.3-5 Therefore, the resulting graphite oxide product is water dispersable, insulating and light brown in color. The insulating GO can be reduced to form chemically modified graphene (a.k.a. reduced GO, or “r-GO”), in which a large portion of oxygen containing functional groups are removed by reactions with chemicals reducing agents such as hydrazine or its derivatives,6-11 or by thermal treatment in various inert or reducing atmospheres.12-15 Such deoxygenating treatments could be challenging if GO is to be blended with other materials, such as with polymer composites since the polymer component may prevent the reducing agent from reacting with GO, or it may be unstable at the annealing temperature.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.